Two days after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended birthday greetings to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, hardline Hindu nationalist party Shiv Sena in a veiled reference to the event slammed the Indian premier’s soft diplomacy, NDTV reported.
The Shiv Sena in an op-ed in its newspaper Saamana invoked Chhatrapati Shivaji, a prominent Hindu warrior, saying that he never extended good wishes to his enemies.
The right-wing party said: “What is outstanding about Shivaji Maharaj’s thoughts is that he considered enemies of Swarajya as enemies of the nation. Shivaji Maharaj never extended birthday greetings to Aurangzeb, Afzal Khan and Shaista Khan.”
Modi had used social networking website Twitter to extend greetings to Nawaz on his birthday. “Birthday wishes to Pakistan PM Mr Nawaz Sharif. I pray for his long and healthy life,” read Modi’s tweet.